


You're Not Here

by Sheogorath



Category: Silent Hill 2 - Fandom
Genre: Alcoholism, Cancer, Gen, Grief, Songfic, terminal illness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-23
Updated: 2013-06-23
Packaged: 2017-12-15 20:24:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/853701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheogorath/pseuds/Sheogorath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fic based on the song of the same title from SH3, written simply because I felt the lyrics reflected James' story much more than they did Heather's.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're Not Here

**Author's Note:**

> No IP was used in the writing of this fic except for the lyrics of 'You're Not Here', which I typed out from memory before replacing them with the parts of the story one or two lines at a time.

## You're Not Here.

Standing on his back porch, James Sunderland could see the cloudlessness of the cerulean sky above as in front of him, the unmown grass of his yard danced in the warm summer breeze. He drank the last sip of his beer, then angrily threw the bottle down to smash on the concrete flags of the walk below as he thought of how his wife, Mary, should be enjoying this weather with him, and how if they had never met and got married, he'd be perfectly able to cope as a bachelor. Instead he was now bereft, yet felt unable to fill the void that existed in his life.

As he returned inside to grab another beer from the now too large fridge, James considered his options as he thought about his life. Sometimes he experienced a strange weakness that he imagined was the result of grief, and his heart often hurt so badly that he'd once sought treatment, only to be told that the results of the EKG he'd undergone had highlighted no abnormalities in its functioning. He wanted his wife so badly sometimes that it was like she was a drug, but of course she couldn't supply his need.

James could vaguely remember the love Mary had shown him before the tumour in her lungs had metastasised to her brain, especially in the early days of their marriage. Going to Silent Hill for their honeymoon had been his idea and she'd only gone along to make him happy, but the moment she saw the place, she'd fallen head over heels in love with it, and when James had told her how glad he was, her face had virtually lit up with a beaming smile.

However, all that was in the past now, and James' clearest memories were the stressful ones where Mary had berated him for doing nice things for her when she was so 'ugly'. She always said she was sorry immediately afterwards, but those apologies were starting to mean less and less when the behaviour that made them necessary was increasing in regularity. Love wasn't supposed to be like that, it was supposed to be a beautiful, enduring thing of laughter, kisses, and lovemaking.

After finishing his second beer, James dashed away the tears that had started to flow. He didn't have time to mope around, he had to get Mary's room ready for what might be her final visit home. Of course, he'd never have imagined that he would drink beer after beer, sorrowing over what she was no longer capable of, but that had been before her love got replaced by self-loathing and rage at her impending fate and him.

Inside James' brain right then, a small part shut itself off from the rest and began to form a plan that it thought would solve both his and Mary's problems.

**Author's Note:**

> Copyright © 2013 Romersa's Protege. Individuals and groups are free to copy and share this work for all purposes except large scale distribution, subject to credit being given and any derivatives being published under the same or a similar licence. All other rights reserved.


End file.
